ant-zen is proud to join the distinguished ranks of Staalplaat, Soleilmoon,
Extreme, and other labels in offering the rarefied music of Muslimgauze. Dome
Of The Rock is ant-zen's first Muslimgauze release, and its mesmerizing concoction
of middle eastern themes and contemporary electronics is sure to become an
important part of the Muslimgauze catalog.

Dome Of The Rock was recorded by Muslimgauze's Bryn Jones in 1993 - the same
year that ant-zen released its first record - but like much of Jones' output
it was placed on a shelf and somehow left behind. Instead, 1993 saw a triptych
of classics in Vote Hezbollah, Hamas Arc, and Citadel, all of which served
to cement the growing creative range of Muslimgauze. Although the remainder
of the 1990s sees marked shifts in Jones stylistic tendencies - the harsher
metal looping edges of 1995's Izlamaphobia, the taut ambient bliss of 1996's
Gun Aramaic, the intense electro distortion of 1998's Mazar-I-Sharif, the
blistering tabla and bass of 1999's Hand Of Fatima - it's not too ambitious
to characterize Jones' output from 1992-94 as foundational to the Muslimgauze
mystique. Dome Of The Rock was for a decade a missing piece of that foundation.

Of course there are clear stylistic connections between Dome Of The Rock
and other Muslimgauze material released in 1993. Dome Of The Rock's “Infidel
Asphyxia 1” and “Infidel Asphyxia 2” share the strong presence
of tabla and spoken word found throughout Satyajit Eye; the electric edge
present at the beginning of Vote Hezbollah is a timbre that threads through
“Dome Of The Rock 2;” and the ever-present throb of the omnipresent
desert felt on Hamas Arc permeates the whole of Dome Of The Rock. furthermore,
the title track has been in circulation since 1995, appearing on Salaam Alekum,
Bastard, as did variants of “Cairopraktar” and “Mandarin
Guerilla.”

In fact, to suggest Salaam Alekum, Bastard and Dome Of The Rock are doppelgangers
would be reasonable, but entirely dismissive. For one of the defining characteristics
of Dome Of The Rock - the aspect that sets it apart from not only Salaam Alekum,
Bastard but other Muslimgauze releases in the early 1990s - is the way that
bass rhythms drive the album through each musical thought from its simple
beginnings to its logical end. From the first track, “Dome Of The Rock
1,” the album succumbs to the will of a bedrock bass theme that propels
emotion to lurch forth, as if it were the muscle powering the hand that grips
Muslimgauze's percussive scimitar - at the very moment it severs an ambient
silence.

Like the 1991 album United States Of Islam, half of Dome Of The Rock's structure
is laid out in two-part wholes, where a prevalent theme is worked in dual
directions. “Dome Of The Rock 1” utilizes a relaxed, westernized
drum kit and atmospheric synth fill to craft a sense of adroit ease; “Dome
Of The Rock 2” takes the same drum kit, drops the bass to the floor
lightly, and spaces out the ambience with swirling bass flute tones - the
adroit ease morphs into a rigid wisp of sound that whips past your ears. similarly,
“Infidel Asphyxia 1” and “2” share the machine gun
tempo of a piercing woodblock clack and snare accompaniment, but the first
version brings synth sounds to the fore like wall of rhythmic passion, while
the second volleys those same sounds in measured doses.

On the three remaining tracks, Bryn Jones crafts a microcosm of complimentary
emotions. The first, “Mandarin Guerilla 4,” begins with an icy
gust of ambience, blowing from side to side, which ever so slowly reveals
percussion figures as they lope aimlessly across the soundstage. “Mount
Of Olives 1” returns to the driving bass themes of “Dome Of The
Rock 1” and “2,” although this time the quiet minor chord
structure creates a stronger sense of tension, of the ominous, as the sound
of the tambourine sounds of a mazhar echo in the distance. Dome Of The Rock
closes with “Cairopraktar 4,” a full two minutes longer than its
same-named sibling on Salaam Alekum, Bastard and even more intense in its
atmosphere, where the mirwas rhythms run deeper into the stereo image as if
captured inside an empty mosque - which makes all the difference in the track's
effect.

In a similar fashion, it's this difference in effect that sets Dome Of The
Rock apart from all other Muslimgauze releases. Special packaging with embossing.

This album has seven songs and is about 63 minutes in length. The packaging
is wonderful as I would expect from Ant Zen. Apparently, the music has been
licensed from Soleilmoon, so I don't believe the music was "forgotten
on the shelf" as the press release indicates.

Overall, this album could be titled "Salaam Alekum, Bastard - Part Two"
as it remixes some of the songs from that album.

1. Dome of the Rock 1 – 10:11 – This song is very much like the
original version on "Salaam Alekum, Bastard". The original (btw)
is 10:18.

2. Dome of the Rock 2 – 11:13 – Sounds like a mellow remix of
the original.

3. Infidel Asphyxia 1 – 7:25 – I thought this was going to be
another remix of "Infidel" from the "Citadel" album…
and considering that the music on "Citadel" was recorded around
January 1992, I thought this would make sense to see a new remix composed
in 1993. But, no. This song is a slightly remixed version of the song "Salaam
Alekum,
Bastard". The original SA,B is 7:30.

4. Infidel Asphyxia 2 – 7:20 – A further remix of the song "Salaam
Alekum, Bastard".

5. Mandarin Guerilla 4 – 6:46 – A slight remix of the original,
which appears on "Salaam Alekum, Bastard". The original is 6:37.
Don't know where Mandarin Guerilla 2 and 3 are located.

6. Mount of Olives 1 – 13:38 – The song is unreleased, yet the
music is VERY similar to the music on "Deceiver" or the Klanggalerie
album, "Untitled" with it's heavy, clean bass lines and finger cymbal
chimes. You could also compare this song to the music on "Betrayal".

7. Cairopraktar 4 – 6:25 – Another slight remix of the original,
which appears on "Salaam Alekum, Bastard". The original is 4:14.
Don't know where Cairopraktar 2 and 3 are located.

I suspect that this album was engineered by John Delf at the Abraham Mosque
as noted in the booklet of "Salaam Alekum, Bastard". A wonderful
edition to the Muslimgauze cannon! As many on this list know, I adore Bryn's
work during this time. There was even a small hope in my mind that this album
would actually be the long lost "Shekel of Israeli Occupation" album.
However, it is not, but this album would fit in nicely with that time period.

Dome of the Rock is kind of hard to describe, well rather easy to describe
but hard to explain what makes it great. Featuring, I suppose, typical Muslimgauze
rhythmic structures, it has a weirdly atmospheric quality. That is to say,
although largely beat focused, there is still an atmospheric edge of synthy
goodness. Tribal ambient drones predominate, and at times the keyboards even
sound vaguely Middle Eastern, although I find it hard to articulate exactly
how. Almost in the way they flow in and out of auditory perception, though
it's more than just being turned on and off, more like oscillating between
hardness and softness, loudness and quietness, often at the same time.

This is extremely hypnotic music, that makes the listener sway and move with
each drone, and this is in more than just the beats. The atmosphere also has
a strangely rhythmic quality to it, while the beats have a loosely melodic
tinge. Even now while I have it on I sense myself giving into its mesmerizing
power, yet, still, I'm oddly frustrated in describing it. Perhaps a softer
release than some Muslimgauze, yet there is an edge of intensity to it, kind
of a soundtrack-is quality of morbidity, a feeling of hostility and anger,
while I suppose that's the image we are supposed to be left with, a form of
sadness and empathy for those in the Arab world. Oddly harsh, yet at the same
time downtrodden, while in quiet pain. Okay, so how does this sound: melodic
tribal beats, ambient hypnotic drones, and an overall groove that is alienating,
while embracing a generated image of a lost and frustrated world?